Sim v. Field Office for the San Francisco Field Office of ICE

Background

Map Sim filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a federal procedure allowing a person in custody to challenge detention that allegedly violates federal law or the Constitution. The opinion says he is detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending removal and filed the petition without a lawyer. He paid the filing fee and consented to magistrate-judge jurisdiction.

The opinion states that Map Sim was born in Cambodia and moved to the United States on October 26, 1981. He was convicted of first-degree residential robbery. ICE took him into custody on June 23, 2023, and an immigration judge ordered his removal on July 3, 2023. He had not been removed because, according to his petition, the Cambodian government fluctuates in accepting Cambodian detainees and removal can take two to four years.

Claim and court’s initial assessment

Map Sim argued that his continued detention violates 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6), as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Zadvydas v. Davis. He asserted that the reasonable period for detention had expired and that his removal was not significantly likely to occur in the reasonably foreseeable future.

The court stated that, under 28 U.S.C. § 2243, it may order the respondents to explain why the writ should not be granted unless the petition shows that the detained person is not entitled to relief. The court liberally construed Map Sim’s filing and held that his claim is cognizable, meaning the court can consider it. The opinion did not decide whether the detention violates the law or whether Map Sim must be released.

Order

Judge Nathanael M. Cousins ordered the clerk to serve the order on the respondents, their attorneys, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and Map Sim. The respondents must file a consent or declination regarding magistrate-judge jurisdiction within 28 days after the form is sent.

Within 60 days after the order’s issuance, the respondents must serve Map Sim with an answer and copies of the portions of his immigration record relevant to the petition. Map Sim may file a traverse, meaning a response to the answer, within 30 days after receiving it. Instead of answering, the respondents may file a motion to dismiss on procedural grounds; the order sets response and reply deadlines for that option.

Disposition and classification

The court issued an order to show cause. It did not grant or deny the habeas petition and did not enter a final ruling on the legality of Map Sim’s detention. The classification is procedural_order because the court directed further proceedings without reaching the petition’s merits.